Leading Tech Firms See Women as Solution to Skills Gap

Monica Eaton-Cardone announces her efforts to have females account for at least 25% of her technology workforce within the next 10 years.

Tampa Bay, FL (PRWEB)August 07, 2017

A recent General Electric (GE) report states that unfilled tech jobs are “holding back the growth of key industries and slowing economic development,” which poses a problem for U.S. companies seeking to fill an estimated two million computing and engineering positions over the next decade.(1) To address this shortage, GE and other industry leaders are undertaking efforts to boost employment rates of women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) positions.(2) Monica Eaton-Cardone, an IT executive specializing in risk management and fraud prevention, joins these forward-thinking firms in pledging to hire more women in technology roles at her companies.

The GE report highlights findings from a number of studies, revealing that women hold just 13% to 24% of tech-related jobs at major technology firms, which reflects a broader trend—females account for only 14% of engineering positions and 25% of IT roles at all companies nationwide. Other research cited in the report suggests that closing the gender gap could increase the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) 10% by 2030. GE also emphasized the direct economic benefits to companies, with gender-diverse firms achieving up to 53% better financial performance and nearly $599 million more in average sales revenue than those employing fewer women.(1)

Consequently, GE has set goals of having 20,000 women in STEM roles throughout the company by 2020 and achieving a 50:50 representation in all technical entry-level programs.(2) Other tech giants are also working to bring more females into the industry: Oracle has pledged $3 million to educate girls in STEM fields through the government’s “Let Girls Learn” initiative, while Google has invested $50 million to teach young girls how to code.(3)

“Women have historically been underrepresented in technology careers. However, this is poised to change now that tech companies are actively courting females,” said Eaton-Cardone, who serves as Chief Information Officer (CIO) of Global Risk Technologies and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Chargebacks911. “The current focus on educating…